Software-implemented processes have a direct influence over many aspects of society. Digital consumer companies are disrupting the old guard and changing the way we live and do business in fundamental ways. For example, recent companies have disrupted traditional business models for taxis, hotels, and car rentals by leveraging software-implemented processes and interfaces to create new technical solutions that better address consumers' needs and wants.
An Internet of Things (IoT) has developed over at least the last decade, representing a network of physical objects or “things” with embedded software that enables connectivity with other similar or dissimilar things. In some examples, connected things can exchange information, or can receive remote instructions or updates, for example via the Internet. Such connectivity can be used to augment a device's efficiency or efficacy, among other benefits.
Similar to the way that consumer device connectivity is changing consumers' lifestyles, embedded software and connectivity among industrial assets presents an opportunity for businesses to alter and enhance operations, for example, in fields of manufacturing, energy, agriculture, or transportation, among others. This connectivity among industrial assets is sometimes referred to as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Industrial Internet applications are typically isolated, one-off implementations. However, these implementations limit the opportunities to create economies of scale, and fall short of unlocking the potential of connecting multiple machines and data around the globe.